noun
feigned madness; pretended insanity
Literary or historical term for pretending to be insane, often to avoid responsibility or danger. Rare in modern everyday language; more common expressions include 狂気を装う or 気違いのふりをする.
古典文学では、登場人物が佯狂を用いて難を逃れる場面がある。
In classical literature, there are scenes where characters escape trouble by feigning madness.
Sino-Japanese compound from 佯 (pretend, feign) and 狂 (madness, insanity). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; it appears in classical Chinese texts and was adopted into literary Japanese.